| name | expo-ios-simulator |
| description | Run and drive an Expo / React Native app on the iOS Simulator. Pick an execution mode (Expo Go, dev client, Storybook-mobile, web-on-mobile), build and install a dev client, and clear the recurring Expo/RN prompts that block automation: the push-token alert that stacks until the overlay darkens the screen, the "Open in app?" deep-link dialog, the dev menu, and the element-inspector trap. Sits ON TOP of ios-simulator; failures route to ios-simulator-triage. Project-agnostic; discovers bundle id and scheme from the app config. Use for "run my Expo app on the simulator", "load a dev client", or "drive Storybook on iOS". |
| status | complete |
| sources | ["https://docs.expo.dev/develop/development-builds/introduction/ (Expo Go vs development builds; the fixed native set)","the reference files below carry the per-command provenance (Expo docs, Apple, AXe --help)"] |
Expo on the iOS Simulator (layer on top of ios-simulator)
Everything here is Expo / React-Native runtime behavior, not the simulator itself
(that is ios-simulator, which boots devices, captures screenshots, and grants
permissions). This skill gets an Expo app running on a booted simulator and clears the
Expo-specific overlays that stall automation. For "make the app driveable" see
mobile-accessibility.
Before anything
A booted simulator and AXe installed; that is ios-simulator prerequisites.md. This
skill discovers everything app-specific (bundle id, scheme) from the app config; it never
hardcodes a project's nouns.
The loop
- Pick an execution mode (
references/execution-modes.md): Expo Go, a development
build (dev client), Storybook-mobile, or web-on-mobile. The choice is forced by whether
the app has custom native code.
- Get the app on the device. Pure-JS app: Expo Go installs and launches it for you
(
references/expo-go.md). Anything with native modules or a config plugin: build and
install a dev client (references/development-builds.md), then serve Metro and connect
by deep link.
- Clear the recurring prompts (
references/known-prompts.md): the "Open in app?"
deep-link dialog, the push-token alert that re-fires and stacks on each reload, and the
dev menu; avoid the element-inspector trap. Clear each by accessibility, never coordinates.
- Drive it. The driving primitive is ios-simulator
references/driving.md
(axe tap --id / --label); what makes the app addressable is mobile-accessibility.
Rules
- Discover bundle id and scheme from the app config; never hardcode them.
- Never drive a bundling app. Two readiness gates sit between "launched" and "driveable":
Metro serving (
curl /status) and the first bundle finishing (the tree grows labels); both
recipes are in references/development-builds.md. Taps dispatched before them report
success and do nothing.
- Clear every Expo dialog and overlay by accessibility (
axe tap --label), not coordinates.
- Every factual claim here and in the references cites a primary source (Expo, Apple, AXe's
own help); a prior-art skill is never a source.
Out of scope
- The simulator itself, its chrome, capture, and permissions: ios-simulator.
- What makes an app addressable (accessibility props): mobile-accessibility.
- The dev menu's items and React Native DevTools (shared with Android): expo-developer-tools.
- Build, runtime, and automation failures: ios-simulator-triage.
References
references/execution-modes.md: the four ways to run an Expo app and when to use each.references/expo-go.md: the Expo Go path and its fixed-native-set limit.references/development-builds.md: building and connecting a dev client.references/known-prompts.md: the recurring dialogs, the dev menu, and the inspector trap.
